


Correspondence

by Thimblerig



Category: Homeward Bounders - Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: Epistolary, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Sibling Rivalry, war games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-25
Updated: 2019-08-25
Packaged: 2020-09-26 10:08:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20387989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thimblerig/pseuds/Thimblerig
Summary: ... Your Loving Son,Adam





	Correspondence

**Author's Note:**

  * For [opalmatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/opalmatrix/gifts).

_15 April, 19--_

_Am staying out late with friends from school. Absolutely no plotting, I promise._

_Yes, I’m continuing with the night attack to Nairn. It’s decent strategic sense. Would you shift my troops along the terrain?_

_I shall trust you to make the dice rolls, Dearest Papa._

_Your Loving Son,_

_Adam_

_*_

_18 April, 19--_

_Yes, of course I understand about the night shift. Got to keep hospital admins happy and all that, and not even you can do much about ‘flu season._

_Our game will be here, waiting for you, as will I. (I did accidentally knock the Battle Board just slightly walking past. It was an accident I swear and all the pieces are returned to their rightful places.) Spoiler: we’re leaving the boggy field of Drumossie and “taking to the heather”. I picked up the Guerilla Warfare Expansion this arvo at the model shop and Chapters 6 through 8 look particularly enticing to my untutored eyes._

_Oh ho ho, what fun we shall have._

_Your Loving Son,_

_Adam_

_*_

_17 May, 19--_

_So what if I did fake the school assignment?_

_I looked up the life-cycle of the species of bean we were studying, and I found the averages, and I made a growth chart and adjusted for error, and sunlight, and watering differences. I wrote a nice little essay analysing my results._

_And if I spent two hours on books and paperwork, instead of tinkering for months on a kindergarten Grow A Seed In A Jar makework project, then I’m still <strike>damn</strike> sure I learned more than half the kids in my science class._

_Isn’t that something? That I learned something?_

_I shouldn’t have opened my mouth about it. I was just proud of myself, you know? I got an A+ in Science, easy as kiss-your-hand, and I was  proud._

_I’m tearing this letter up, it’s awful._

_I hate it when you look at me that way. _

_That’s it, this is going in the rubbi_

_*_

_17 June, 19--_

_Thank you, Dad. Yes, I would like to play another game with you._

_If you don’t mind, I would like another crack at Culloden. The Scottish side again. I don’t believe in no-win scenarios._

_Your Son,_

_Adam_

_*_

_18 June, 19--_

_Mum told me what Vanessa said to you last week. <strike>I don’t</strike> <strike>I didn’t</strike>_

_She really is a perfect example of the species Protective Older Sister, isn’t she?_

_Hang on, this isn’t soppy enough. Will try again in the morning._

_*_

_19 June, 19--_

_… Look, if you think someone like Vanessa is just going to keep going along in the traces of Medical Student and Future Doctor, like, forever, you’ve got another think coming. She loves you, sure. But she’s got that wild glint in her eye. Love won’t hold her forever._

_I’d better bin this one, too._

_*_

_5 July, 19--_

_Oh Pater, Oh Mater,_

_I don’t have time to explain. This is just for if you get home early while I’m out Gathering Components. I mean, Supplies. Perfectly ordinary Supplies, nothing to look at here._

_We have guests staying, who were unexpectedly caught out of their regular accommodation due to unforeseen circumstances. The older gent in white (a bit on the short side) is Konstam Khan. He is an Expert Vermin Exterminator. (I promise I will explain later, this is so good, I cannot possibly get it down on paper.) Anyway. The Overly Polite Boy is Joris, Konstam’s Loyal Assistant. They are perfectly sweet, really, but they are from a long way away and it is best not to ask too many questions until I get back. Okay?_

_Jamie won’t give any trouble, he’s just sleeping because he hurt his arm. And Helen is… the hair thing is normal for Helen, so don’t worry about it. (But she bites.)_

_Your Son, Adam_

_ps. Whatever Vanessa tells you she is lying. I never, and I would never._

_*_

_9 July, 19--_

_Vanessa is writing a letter of her own, Dad, Mum, but I am writing this one for you._

_We are going off for a bit. It’s a game, except it isn’t, except it is. We did our research as much as we could. Konstam Khan knows such a lot about things like this, and so does Jamie when he isn’t just making things up to look clever. _

_I’m not doing this to look clever either. Well. The world can proclaim my genius anytime it likes of course. But  They aren’t something we can walk away from. All I can think of is you going off to work another night shift because that’s just what you do. I hope you understand._

_The Peerless Older Sibling is going to lay it all out, probably with diagrams and an itemised list. _

_I love you,_

_Adam_

_*_

_????_

_Dad, I nicked this notebook from one of the Clan MacKintosh officers. (Jamie showed me how to pick pockets and I was just curious I swear, but it’s useful now.) So I’m writing you another letter while we're having a bit of a rest._

_We’ve been marching all day, and the ground is boggy so we’re all tired. I’m not one of the soldiers, so don’t you worry about that. They’ve got me carrying lead shot and power-packs. I can’t leave the soldiers but nothing can hurt me - really hurt me. Jamie said that [indecipherable] but [indecipherable], so I suppose I could just waltz in front inviting the Redcoats to rob me, but - No, I don’t think that would quite serve. Can’t [indecipherable]._

_I don’t regret what I did._

_Hah! I really, really do. _

_We’re almost at Culloden Field and the officers are just going to plant us in that field and try to defend against the cavalry and cannons. Because of course they are. And I don’t know what to do except keep walking, I can't [indecipherable]. I disapprove of no-win scenarios, Dad - but I really wish I could have another reset. Hope you’re not disappoi_

_Something is pulling me. I_

_*_

_Dad, Mum,_

_It’s been a complicated few days, but if you see this I’m upstairs having a nap._

_The Pretty Older Sister is getting married._

_I love you._

_Adam_

**Author's Note:**

> // Adam is, like a lot of DWJ’s characters, a bit of an odd duck when you look at him closely - a socially functional sociopath nested into a loving family. He is, perhaps, a bit less likely to sacrifice a sibling for profit than Gwendolen Chant but… it crossed his mind, yeah? And it's interesting to explore his motivations, and how he looks at the world, while remembering that he's still just a kid.
> 
> // _night attack to Nairn_ \- Adam and Adam’s Dad were replaying the Battle of Culloden of 1746, between England and Scotland. Historically, the Nairn night attack dissolved into bad timing, miscommunication, and a spot of bad luck, but the basic tactic wasn't terrible. Adam was playing the odds.


End file.
